Sports betting and gambling have increasingly garnered criticism due to the increasing number of instances of younger people joining in and doing harm to their lives. Due to this increased awareness, debates around the complete ban on sports betting are ongoing. Additionally, many have turned their eyes to other sports-affiliated activities that have the ability to cause similar harm, like Fantasy Football.
Fantasy Football often draws similarities to sports betting, mainly because both involve wagering money on performance and, in many cases, are housed on the same apps by large companies like DraftKings and FanDuel. That said, the main difference between the two is that Fantasy Football is labeled a game of skill, not relying on chance or gambling like Sports Betting. Additionally, money is not required to get into Fantasy Football, though pay-to-play fantasy leagues, cash buy-ins, and payouts.
Due to these similarities, Fantasy Football can be addicting to those who participate; affiliated apps use practices to increase a user’s screen time. Additionally, fantasy football puts players into a role where they become heavily invested in the stats of a player and the overall team they build. The time and money they invest into these teams unsurprisingly lead to large amounts of dopamine surges when their players do win.
While fantasy football isn’t federally recognized as gambling, due to being classified as a game of skill, it still can have players fall into the trappings of addiction like any other game. However, due to the increasing rate of teens joining these activities, it’s important now more than ever to put more age restrictions and educate people on how to enjoy these activities responsibly.
